Coritiba defender Jacy falls into stadium tunnel celebrating disallowed goal against Chapecoense

Celebration turns into plunge

Coritiba captain Jacy Maranhão Oliveira thought he had doubled his side's lead in the 41st minute of their Brazilian Série A round-22 match against Chapecoense on Saturday evening at the Estádio Couto Pereira in Curitiba. The 29-year-old defender, who has scored only nine goals in a nine-year career, headed the ball into the net and ran toward the home fans with the ball tucked under his shirt in a gesture signaling that his wife is pregnant. He vaulted the advertising hoardings without noticing that the away-team tunnel, normally covered during play, had been opened because halftime was approaching. He plunged into the stairwell leading to the visiting dressing room, disappearing from view as a security guard rushed down to assist him.

Jacy reappeared shortly after and the Coritiba medical staff attended to him on the pitch. While he was being treated, the video assistant referee reviewed the play and disallowed the goal for offside, wiping out what would have been Coritiba's second. Jacy finished the remaining minutes of the first half but was substituted in the 48th minute, two minutes after the restart, due to the ankle injury sustained in the fall. He spent the second half on the bench with ice on his ankle. Coritiba went on to win 2-1, with goals from Tiago Coser and Pedro Rocha.

The player's account

Speaking to Brazilian media outlet Globoesporte, Jacy described the sensation of the fall and explained his celebration.

“I scored the goal and wanted to celebrate with my wife, because she is pregnant. But I remembered it was my first goal and wanted to celebrate with the fans too. I hadn't remembered that there was a hole there. When I jump, you know when you dream that you're falling from a building? That's what it was.”

He said the pain worsened when he tried to run in the second half, prompting his request to be substituted. He added that he believed the injury was not serious but would only know after a medical examination. The Guardian quoted him offering a more concise summary of the episode.

“I twisted my foot there. It's a bit sore, but I'm fine. Centre-backs hardly ever score goals. I just got carried away.”

A recurring hazard at Couto Pereira

The incident was not the first of its kind at the stadium. In 2014, Coritiba striker Diederrick Joel Tagueu, known as Joel, fell into the same tunnel while celebrating a goal against São Paulo. Unlike Jacy's effort, Joel's goal was allowed to stand. According to German daily Der Tagesspiegel, the same security guard who helped Joel to his feet in 2014 was present at the stadium for Jacy's fall. Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported that a security guard had tried to warn Joel in the 2014 incident, but the player did not see the hand signals.

A similar accident occurred in 2018, when FC Zürich midfielder Benjamin Kololli fell into a ditch at the stadium in Larnaca during a Europa League match after scoring a penalty. Kololli had jumped over an advertising board and a concrete wall before disappearing into the gap separating spectators from the pitch. The video of Jacy's fall circulated widely on social media over the weekend, drawing comparisons to Jordan Henderson's broken arm, suffered while celebrating in Mexico earlier in the summer.